Maserati

One of the rarer outfits stressing the rock side within post-rock, Maserati fuse space rock, dance music, and new wave into a propulsive style rooted in their uncommon mix of technical skill and lively humor. The group’s initial outings, among them The Language of Cities from 2002, picked up threads left by Tortoise, Macha, and Labradford, weaving ambient, jazz, and modern classical elements into intricate, warmly layered instrumental pieces. Real growth arrived once drummer Jerry Fuchs joined, his forceful yet exacting approach enabling broader exploration on the Motorik-driven Inventions for the New Season in 2007 and the synth-heavy Pyramid of the Sun in 2010. Following Fuchs’ sudden passing, the band kept uncovering fresh dimensions of its signature sound, whether through the dance-oriented Maserati VII in 2012 or the retro-futuristic reflections of Enter the Mirror in 2020.

Guitarists Coley Dennis and Matt Cherry, bassist Steve Scarborough, and drummer Phil Horan formed Maserati in Athens, Georgia, during January 2000. Live performances began by June, and that October they captured and issued the self-released 37:29:24, a brooding fusion of space-rock breadth with Slint-like bursts of aggression. Kindercore signed the band the next year; after heavy touring, they entered producer Andy Baker’s Chase Park studio to lay down The Language of Cities, released by the label in August 2002. A series of shorter releases followed, such as the 2003 split Confines of Heat with the Mercury Program. Cherry stepped away temporarily that year, replaced on guitar by Tristan Wraight. Horan departed after a Japanese tour with Mono the following year, triggering a twelve-month hiatus.

Reconvening in 2005 brought Cherry back and added Jerry Fuchs—also of !!!, the Juan MacLean, and Turing Machine—to the lineup. Fuchs supplied the rhythmic foundation that made Maserati both heavier and more wide-ranging, evident in U.S. and European shows across 2006 and 2007 as well as on his first recorded outing, Inventions for the New Season. Issued by Temporary Residence in March 2007, the album pushed prog-rock and Motorik influences forward. September 2008 saw Inventions Remixes, featuring reworkings by Tim Goldsworthy and Justin Van Der Volgen. Bassist Chris McNeal joined that year; while preparing the next album and touring, the group issued a split with Zombi in February 2009 and the odds-and-ends collection Passages that September. Tragedy struck in November when Fuchs died in a freak elevator-shaft accident. The remaining members completed the next album as a tribute. Released a year later, Pyramid of the Sun in November 2010 marked a step ahead, layering electronic accents and contributions from Zombi’s Steve Moore onto Fuchs’ hypnotic grooves. The limited-edition companion Pyramid of the Moon, including a remix by the Field, appeared simultaneously.

Throughout 2011 Maserati toured in support of Pyramid of the Sun, employing Zombi’s A.E. Paterra (also of Majeure) on drums. While shaping the following record they composed numerous tracks around an Oberheim DMX drum machine yet ultimately enlisted Mike Albanese to track the drums live. The outcome, Maserati VII, arrived in October 2012, merging danceable beats with expansive electronic textures. After shows across Europe and Asia, the band reconvened in Albanese’s Athens, Georgia studio for the leaner, more rock-focused Rehumanizer in November 2015. Once Dennis relocated to Switzerland, work on the subsequent album took place there, in Athens, and remotely. Produced by the band, mixed by John Congleton, and featuring R.E.M.’s Bill Berry, Enter the Mirror appeared in April 2020 to mark the group’s twentieth anniversary, drawing on the expansive ’80s sound and the unsettled era of its release.